Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
In Whistler, this investment will support the construction of a new water treatment plant in the south. It will also enable the replacement of an existing well pump, the decommissioning of one well and two chlorine dosing systems, and the construction of approximately 600 metres of new water main. This work will ensure wastewater is properly treated and improve the connection with the Whistler Main system.
Quebec will give $2.4 billion over 10 years to help municipalities work on their water and wastewater infrastructure. "We want to repair our water system in Quebec. It's expensive. Our drinking water, we must be careful," said Municipal Affairs Minister Andrée Laforest in an interview with The Canadian Press. This assistance is part of a municipal water infrastructure program called PRIMEAU. Previous PRIMEAU programs had a total envelope of $826.7 million.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government has released a new plan aimed at improving drinking water safety in the province. The provincial government said from 2017-2022, there have been an average of 191 boil water advisories, which affected 146 communities and about 44,000 people. In comparison, there were 350 boil water advisories throughout the province in 2001.
The total cost of upgrades to the largest of Winnipeg's sewage treatment plants has risen to $2.2 billion and will likely increase further, according to city financial status reports and previous budget documents. This is leading to renewed concerns about the cash required to continue improvements to the North End Water Pollution Control Centre, which processes sewage from the Kildonans, Transcona, Elmwood, the North End, the West End, downtown neighbourhoods and parts of River Heights, St. James and St. Boniface.
Water and wastewater treatment "Access to safe drinking water is a fundamental of community life," said Joanasie. "As communities grow and regulations change, so do the demands on our existing, aging infrastructure." A total of $31 million is being put toward improvements in water and wastewater infrastructure improvements in seven communities. The project allocations are as follows: $187,000 to design a water treatment plant to replace the current pump house in Arctic Bay. $2,091,000 for the construction of a new water treatment plant in Grise Fiord. $698,000 for construction work to complete upgrades to the water intake in Kugluktuk. $188,000 to begin design of a new water treatment plant in Pond Inlet. $275,000 to proceed with the design of a wastewater treatment plant to adequately treat both piped and trucked wastewater in Resolute Bay. $188,000 to begin design on a new water treatment plant in Sanikiluaq. $450,000 to begin design work on upgrades and new sewage lagoon to treat wastewater in Sanikiluaq.
Nunavut's government says it has made several improvements to a fuel system in Rankin Inlet to make sure it doesn't have another spill like the one in 2020 that cost the territory $100,000 in federal fines. On Friday, the government issued a news release with details on the outcome of an 18,400-litre diesel fuel spill at Maani Ulujuk Ilinniarvik High School in April 2020.
Water services in Wahta Mohawk Territory have seen a lot of improvements recently. With input from the Wahta Mohawks Chief and the director of public works, Wahta Mohawks communications officer Sean Molnar provided information about the community’s water services. Wahta’s water systems include water wells and treatment systems. There are two types of water systems: those owned and managed by Wahta — located in buildings like the Administration Building, Cultural Healing Centre, Nursing Station, Public Works Shop, ICG Building, and rental units — and those owned and managed by private homeowners and businesses.
The series of black pipes currently jutting out onto Elm Street, coupled with the groups of construction workers toiling away this summer, means some big infrastructure projects are in the works for downtown Sudbury, one of more than 20 the city hopes to wrap up by winter. Brittany Hallam, the city's director of linear infrastructure services, said improvements to the city's water mains is the cause of the congestion, and the snake-like trail of pipe running along the sidewalks.
It's been 50 years since Canada and the U.S. signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, meant to restore and protect the Great Lakes, and a new report is showing what's changed over that time and what challenges are ahead. According the the annual report, the Great Lakes overall assessment is "fair" with an "unchanging" trend, which is due to the "tremendous progress to restore and protect the Great Lakes" over the last few decades. The evaluation is based on a set of indicators officials watch.
Fredericton, New Brunswick, June 28, 2022 - Today, Jenica Atwin, Member of Parliament for Fredericton, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities; the Honourable Jill Green, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure; and Her Worship Kate Rogers, Mayor of Fredericton, announced funding for two projects focused on rehabilitating water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure within Fredericton.
Barrie could dedicate 0.2 per cent of its 2022 water and wastewater revenue — or about $100,000 — toward efforts to improve water services in Indigenous communities. City councillors will consider a motion to that effect Monday night, to help overcome the effects of colonization, discrimination and racism on Indigenous communities in Canada. “About 40 per cent of Ontario’s (Indigenous) reserves are currently operating under a boil water advisory. That is unacceptable,” said Deputy Mayor Barry Ward, whose motion is an item for discussion Monday. “I thought making a direct contribution to improve access to clean drinking water in Indigenous communities would be a wonderful gift from the residents of Barrie in the spirit of reconciliation.
